FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK – Hot Docs 2021 review

Fanny: The Right to Rock screened as part of the 2021 Hot Docs festival. You can find all of our reviews from this year’s edition here. 

Over five decades after they first got together, Fanny is finally being recognized for their contribution to the history and evolution of rock n’ roll. Formed by Filipina-American sisters June and Jean Millington in the late ’60s, Fanny played a wild and spirited version of hard rock that blew the minds of fellow musicians like David Bowie, who became a vocal champion of the band. The first all-female band signed to a major label, Fanny was primed to become one of the biggest bands in the world, but a sexist and racist music industry just wasn’t ready for them yet.

Filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart chronicles the incredible history of Fanny and their surprising recent reunion in Fanny: The Right to Rock, a new documentary that finally gives the band their due. The film follows the Millington sisters from their ’60s garage rock days through to the formation of Fanny, their endless touring and recording cycles, and their reunion decades after the band fell apart.

Featuring spirited new interviews with the band members who seem overjoyed to be back together, the film also includes interviews with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, and the Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine discussing the band’s legacy and influence.

While music documentaries on lesser-known or cult acts have become commonplace, Fanny truly deserves to be known by a much wider audience. Their brand of proto-metal and glam slots perfectly with the greatest hits of the ’70s, and still sounds fresh and exciting today. Apart from reclaiming their musical bona fides, the film delves into the issues the band faced by being visible minorities in a close-minded industry and the difficulties of concealing their queer identities in order to keep the band afloat.

Balancing out the historical elements of the Fanny story, Hart also follows the Millington sisters and drummer Brie Darling as they reunite for the recording of Fanny Walked the Earth, the band’s first new album in over 50 years. Seeing the Fanny members rocking out in their 60s is a joy, but Hart also captures their anguish and fear as Jean is stricken by a stroke just ahead of the band’s planned tour.

Fanny: The Right to Rock encapsulates everything that made the band such a formidable force in the ’70s and provides a great starting point for newcomers to dive into the band’s rich catalogue. Here’s hoping Fanny continues fighting the good fight for many years to come.

Fanny: The Right to Rock screened as part of the 2021 Hot Docs festival.